Jaldi Jaldi – Not to miss 'Desi Fast Food' experience at Last Exit

By: Hamza Shafique

I am not the usual food blogger, I don’t take fancy pictures of artistically presented food at a even fancier eatery instead my philosophy is simple, I focus on food Joints that Desi taste buds can enjoy plus have some unique aspect in terms of their location, price or ambience etc. Jaldi Jaldi is perfect fit as per my review philosophy and is also the right execution of “Desi Food On A Go” concept, which is rare when it comes to Desi Food.

In order to ensure every bite has right mix of all the elements, Desi Food usually requires certain protocol, you can’t simply order it at a drive thru and eat it on a go. I personally like to sit down to have my meal and like it in a certain format such as, gravy/curry need to be in a deep dish with Bread in narrow dish to be eaten along multiple sauces and salads in their own respective setting, now you can imagine why dish washing is a big job in Desi household :p.

Art work on the Jaldi Jaldi Food truck

Last Exit is a food truck park concept recently launched in UAE and is an instant hit, which you can assess from the fact that within a year they already have 3 parks in Dubai alone. These parks have very modern theme look and all the food that you find there is mostly drive thru fast food. When I went to Last Exit at Jabal Ali earlier this year with my Mother in Law, I struggled to find any good fast food that is not in the usual burgers/fries’ format and yet appeals to the desi taste buds of mine. I always travel with family and try to review from that perspective. The younger lot in my family enjoy all sort of fast foods but older lot still looks mainly for desi taste. Even though we enjoyed the overall look and feel of the place, had some fun time taking pictures etc. but food didn’t work for us.

Mango Lassi

So, when my family suggested to visit newly opened Last Exit at Khawaneej (this time with my Mom) I was a bit skeptical. But thanks to Jaldi Jaldi I can now finally look forward to Desi food experience at a trendy food truck park.

Jaldi Jaldi has a Subway sort of format, you pick from multiple breads or rice along with your choice of filling and sauces. I am attaching a scanned copy of menu so that you can see the options for yourself. Options are limited but good and that’s how I personally prefer. I really don’t like eateries with big menus where half the time is wasted in simply deciding what to eat. Also, price range is good and within acceptable range of a usual Dubai Desi household, approx. 30-40/person with drinks. I ordered Kashmiri Chicken Tikka wrap and it tasted very good. I also tried Malai Tikka with Rice(which my mom ordered) and Mughlai Lamb Kebab which my Wife ordered. They all got full marks from me in taste as well. Meat was cooked well and seasoning was just right. Size of the wraps and rice portions were quite adequate and fulfilling. All the elements like price, taste, portions and service (it was self-service) worked for us. But you may wonder what is so special about Jaldi Jaldi, as what I have described sounds like a regular desi wrap joint.

For that I will start by telling the basic issues I have with desi wraps, first that they are usually very messy to eat due to the nature of content and the thickness of Desi bread(Naan, which is not designed for wraps) and second if you add less content in the wrap to avoid the mess then it gets really bland. To have the right balance in every bight and not have mess while eating are the main reasons, desi food has the format with multiple dishes etc. I have mentioned above.

That is why I never like any usual desi fast food places. But Jaldi Jaldi has mastered the art of Desi Wraps from my perspective, their wrap was not messy to eat (no sauce or oil dripping from the wrap) yet every bite had the perfect blend of the content from chicken, salad, sauces (chatnis ) etc. and this is what makes Jaldi Jaldi stand out. I guess they have adjusted the thickness of the bread, but whatever they did, it works. Not only they mastered the art of Desi fast food, they also made it possible for me to enjoy Last Exit - food truck experience with family, hence highly recommend. Do let me know if you have tried it already and agree to this review.

Sorry for bad quality of pictures , it was dark and my DSLR was home  :(